Sen. Grace Poe Defends Son For Purchasing Alleged P1-M Shoes

Presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe has come to the defense of her son Brian Llamanzares after he was bashed online following a viral post showing him flaunting limited edition shoes thought to be worth nearly P1 million.

Poe said she was actually not in favor of her son buying the shoes but allowed him to do so since he was spending his hard-earned money, Interaksyon reported.

“You will recall that my son has been holding a job with a television news network, and just took a leave in view of the election season in order to protect the network's objectivity,” she said.

“He saved up for that a long time. Even if assuming I was not agreeable to it, it made him happy. He has a right to it. Why should we stand in the way?” she added.

The shoes in question is a 2011 Limited Edition Nike Mag 10 model featured in the “Back to the Future II” movie that sells online for up to $20,000 (roughly P950,000).

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However, some netizens pointed out that what Llamanzares was wearing in the photo was actually a Nike Air Mag Replica.

These replicas are officially licensed by Universal Studios which produced the “Back to the Future” films and fetch for a far more affordable $160 (roughly P7,600) online.

Although Llamanzares did not specify whether he bought the replica version, he said he got the pair he wore in the controversial picture for only P10,000.

“The shoes did not cost as much as the rumors claim it to be. I bought it online at P10,000 from my own savings. It did not come from government funds as I am a private citizen and not working as a public official,” he told Rappler.

“I used my own hard earned money. I hope that these rumors and lies are finally put to rest,” he added.